Australian Visa Information
Visa Application Processing Times September 2009
If your nominated occupation is on the Critical Skills List (CSL) and you
have applied or will apply for an onshore or offshore GSM visa before the
end of 2009, it is estimated that your visa application will be finalised
within 12 months from your lodgement date. If your nominated occupation
is not on the Critical Skills List (CSL) and you have applied for an offshore
GSM visa or intend to apply for an offshore GSM visa later in 2009, it is
unlikely that your visa application will be finalised before the end of
2012.
Critical Skills List PDF Document at DIMIA
Australian Visa Intake to be cut
From a newspaper report dated: February 23, 2009
Australia will cut its annual immigration intake for the first time
in eight years due to the slowing economy and weakening demand for labour,
Immigration Minister Chris Evans said today.
Australia has been accepting immigrants in record numbers in recent years
and set a target for 190,300 immigrants this year. It seems that this number
will now be trimmed, with the details to be announced in May 2009. However,
even if it was trimmed by 25%, the result would still be the same intake
as the average intake over the last 4 years. Migration Program Outcomes
and Planning Levels
2004/05 120,060 2005/06 142,930 2006/07 148,200 2007/08 158,630 2008/09
190,300 proposed, but now maybe to be cut (details released in March show
a cut of 18,500 to be made in the Skilled Migrants group. This appears
to result in an expected total migration figure of 171,800 for 2008/09)
UPDATE 16th March 2009
The Government is introducing plans to cut the intake of "Skilled" migrant
workers in 2008-09 from 133,500 down to 115,000 This will affect many people
already in Australia as about half of the permanent visas granted are given
to applicants already living and working in Australia, on other visas.
The official list of "Skilled Migrants" is shown as:
2005/06 97,340 2006/07 97,920 2007/08 108,540 2008/09 133,500 but now
reduced to 115,000
The earlier list showing a total of 190,300 proposed migrants for 2008/09
included partners and children. The reduced number only includes the initial
applicant.
Australian Visa Application
When applying for migration to Australia, you will need pass the "character
test".
This takes account of various aspects and includes a criminal conviction
check.
It is important to understand that "spent convictions legislation" does
not apply to decisions made under immigration law, therefore you must declare
ALL convictions, no matter how old.
This is specified under section 6 of the Character Checks - Frequently
Asked Questions Page.
In general you must be between 18 and 45 and have skills and experience
in an occupation where Australia has a shortage of workers, to be able to
get a visa to live and work in Australia.
Information Booklets for Migration
A series of booklets is available from the Department of Immigration, that
are designed to help in making an application to migrate to Australia.
Each booklet contains the necessary information along with the relevant
application forms.
- Partner Migration - for migration by spouses, fiancés and interdependent
partners. - Child Migration - dependent children, orphan relatives or adopted children.
- Parent Migration - aged parents and working-age parents.
- Other Family Migration - aged dependent relative, remaining relative
or carers. - Employer Sponsored Migration - Employer Nomination Scheme, Regional
Sponsored Migration Scheme, Labour Agreements or Invest Australia Supported
Skills Agreements. - General Skilled Migration - independent migration, family or state/territory
sponsored migration. - Business Skills Entry - business owners, senior executives, those with
an ownership interest in an established business in Australia, or investment-linked
migration. - Special Migration - former resident, distinguished talent, or close
ties with Australia. - Sponsoring a Temporary Overseas Employee - for Australian businesses
needing to recruit staff from overseas for temporary entry to Australia
for a period between three (3) months and four (4) years.
The Various Visas for Entry to Australia
General Skilled Migration Visa
There is a range of different General Skilled Migration visas available:
- Three of these can be applied for, and granted, while you are in Australia
- Five can be granted while you are outside Australia
- One can be applied for, and granted, either in or outside Australia
- conditions apply - Three are only available to New Zealand citizens in Australia
More details at:
Employer Sponsored Migration
There are 3 permanent employer sponsored visas:
- Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 121/856)
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 119/857)
- Labour Agreements.
More details at:
Business Skills Entry
The Business Skills visa class of Australia's migration program encourages
successful business people to settle permanently in Australia and develop
new or existing businesses.
They are available as both Provisional and Permanent, with full details
at.
Some of the Visa options are:
Temporary Provisional Residency
- Business Owner (Subclass 163) – for people with a successful career of business ownership.
- Senior Executive (Subclass 164) – for senior executive employees of
a major overseas business. - Investor (Subclass 165) – for people with a successful business or investment
career.
Permanent Residency
- Business Talent (Subclass 132) – for extremely high calibre business
people who are owners or part owners in an overseas business. This visa
provides permanent residency without the need for a provisional visa.
- Business Owner or Senior Executive (Residence) (Subclass 892) – for
Business Owner or Senior Executive provisional visa holders who are applying
for permanent residence. - Investor (Residence) (Subclass 893) – for Investor provisional visa
holders who are applying for permanent residence.
Family Migration
There are a number of Family Migration options for fiancée's, partners,
children, parents and other family members of Australian citizens, Australian
permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens.
Visas subclass 309 and subclass 820 are provisional visas
issued to people who are applying for permanent residence on 'spouse' grounds.
The provisional visa will lead to the grant of a permanent 'spouse' visa (subclass
100 or subclass 801) as long as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
decides that the person's relationship is still genuine and ongoing' 2 years
after the person applied for the visa.
Family Migration Link
Retirement Visa
An Investor Retirement Visa (subclass 405 - Temporary) is a temporary entry
visa only. It does not lead to permanent residence in Australia or to Australian
citizenship.
If you are considering applying for an Investor Retirement visa, the principal
applicant must be 55 years or older, have no dependants (other than a spouse),
and be able to be self-supporting in Australia without cost to Australia's
social and welfare services systems.
The Investor Retirement visa does not provide any entitlement to coverage
by Medicare (Australia's national health cover) or to Australian social security
benefits. Applicant will be required to hold private medical coverage for
the duration of their visa.
If your application is approved, you will be given a visa that will allow
multiple travel in and out of Australia initially for 4 years. Before your
visa expires, you may apply to remain for further stay of 4 years, however,
you will need to satisfy particular criteria for this further visa. There
is no maximum period for which you can remain in Australia as the holder of
consecutive Investor Retirement visas.
Investor retirement visa holders are subject to the 8104 'limited work
rights' condition and will be valid until the expiry of your current visa
allowing you to work for up to 20 hours per week.
There are no concessions if you have any family or children in Australia.
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs - Retirement Visa Link
Occupation in Demand
The Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) lists those occupations
and specialisations identified by the Department of Employment and Workplace
Relations (DEWR) as being in ongoing national shortage.
Doctors & Nurses
Information and visa options for Doctors and Nurses who want to work in
Australia.
457 Temporary Business Visa (Long Stay)
475 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa
This visa requires you to be sponsored by an eligible person or government.
You must live for two years and work for at least 12 months in a Specified
Regional Area of Australia.
After that time you can then apply for Permanent Residency.
Skilled – Independent (Migrant) Visa (Subclass 175)
A permanent visa for people with skills in demand in the Australian labour
market.
Applicants are not sponsored and must pass a points test.
Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) Visa (Subclass 176)
A permanent visa for people unable to meet the Skilled – Independent pass
mark.
Applicants must be either sponsored by an eligible relative living in Australia
or nominated by a participating State or Territory government.
Applicants must pass a points test lower than that for the Skilled – Independent
visa.
Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 475)
A three (3) year provisional visa for people who can meet the lower pass
mark for this visa.
Applicants must be either sponsored by an eligible relative living in a designated
area of Australia or nominated by a participating state/territory government.
After living for two (2) years and working for at least one (1) year in a
Specified Regional Area, applicants can apply for a permanent visa.
Skilled – Recognised Graduate (Temporary) Visa (Subclass 476}
An 18 month temporary visa for graduates of recognised overseas educational
institutions who have skills in demand in Australia.
There is no points test for this visa.
Student Visa
From 26 April 2008, people granted a Student Visa will automatically receive
permission to work with their visa grant. Most student visa holders will no
longer need to apply separately in Australia for permission to work.
Tourist Visas and Working Holiday Visas
Tourist Visa's and Working Holiday Visa's (for those aged 18-30) need to
apply for various Visitor Visa's, some of which are available electronically.
From 21 April 2008, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship
has implemented some minor changes to the ETA system. Most ETA applications
will still be processed instantly, however a small number of cases may require
some additional processing.
There is also a slight change being made from 26 April 2008 to the e676
eVisa form to contain additional questions on Health and Character.
Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)
For people from Belgium, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic
of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and United Kingdom
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)
For tertiary educated people from Chile, Thailand, Turkey and the USA to
holiday and work in Australia.
Tourist Visa (Subclass 676)
This visa is for people who want to visit Australia for a holiday or recreation,
visit family and/or friends, or study for up to three months. This visa may
also be used for other short-term non-work purposes including study for less
than three months.
This temporary visa is generally granted for a stay of 3 or 6 months.
You can apply for a stay up to 12 months but the period of stay granted
will depend on the purpose of the visit and your personal circumstances.
ETA (Visitor) (Subclass 976)
An ETA (Visitor) subclass 976 is designed for people who are outside Australia
and want to visit Australia for holidays, tourism, recreation, and informal
studies or training.
Sponsored Family Visitor visa (subclass 679)
For people seeking to visit family in Australia. Formal sponsorship by
an Australian citizen or permanent resident is required.
You can visit Australia once, usually to stay for a period of up to 3 or
6 months, but in certain circumstances a stay of 12 months may be granted.
While in Australia you can also study for up to three (3) months.
Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 173)
This visa allows you and your accompanying partner and dependent family
members to live as a temporary resident in Australia for two (2) years.
It will allow you to:
- have access to Australia's medical expenses and hospital care assistance
scheme, Medicare - work in Australia
Costs at June 2009
- 1st instalment $1,705
- 2nd instalment $20,595
then........
To convert from subclass 173 to subclass 143..
- 1st instalment $230
- 2nd instalment $13,730
Contributory Parent (Migrant) visa (subclass 143)
This visa allows you, your accompanying partner and dependent family members
to live as permanent residents in Australia.
It will allow you to:
- work and study in Australia,
- receive subsidised healthcare through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical
Benefits Scheme (PBS) - access certain social security payments (subject to waiting periods)
- be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship (subject to the residency
eligibility criteria) - sponsor people for permanent residence (subject to waiting periods).
Costs June 2009:
- 1st instalment $1,705
- 2nd instalment $34,330
1st instalment of the Visa Application Charge is payable for the entire
family unit in the application.
Once the Visa is approved, the 2nd instalment of the Visa Application Charge
is payable for each person included in the application.
and... for after you have your Permanent Residency (PR), and your initial
entry visa has expired, but before you get your Citizenship...
Resident Return Visa (RRV)
A (RRV) is valid for 3 months or 5 years (depending on circumstances).
It allows Australian permanent residents to travel to and from Australia
as often as they wish within the validity of the visa, while maintaining their
status as permanent residents. A 5 year RRV costs AUD$240 (July 2008) regardless
of whether you apply within Australia or overseas.
How do I apply for a Resident Return Visa (RRV)?
To be eligible for a Resident Return Visa (RRV), you must be:
- a permanent resident holding a valid permanent visa,
- a former permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled,
or - a former Australian citizen who has lost or renounced their Australian
citizenship.
In addition to the above, to be eligible for a five year RRV:
- you must be lawfully present in Australia for a total of at least 2
years in the 5 years immediately before lodging the application for the
visa, or - you must have substantial and beneficial business, cultural, employment
or personal ties to Australia and compelling reasons if you have been absent
from Australia for more than 5 years, or - you must be a member of the family unit of a person who holds a valid
RRV or who has applied for and met the criteria for an RRV.
If you do not meet these criteria, but have to leave Australia for compassionate
and compelling reasons, you may be eligible for a 3 month RRV. If you are
unable to meet the RRV requirements in your own right, but you are a member
of the family unit of a person who holds an RRV, you may be granted an RRV
with the same validity period as the family head's RRV.
Immigration Links
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Home Page
Australian Passports - Passport Offices
Immigration and Advice Rights Centre - Australia
Migration Institute of Australia
Migration Review Tribunal
Migration Agents Registration Authority